The 2014 FIFA World Cup
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I couldn't give a flying one about how popular football is in the US. If they want to play it, then fine, but if they prefer their own sports, that's OK too. I quite like it when countries have their own traditions and things don't become too homogenous or ubiquitous.
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It's not about being redneck but I think there are some cultural barriers. There's a lot of subjectivness to the game that we hate. Timekeeping is a perfect example of what I mean here. The transparency of a countdown timer is more "fair" and takes some of the power out of the officials' hands. The penalty system rewards flopping even more than basketball. Definitely need to use a digital system not just for detecting goals but for offsides. Not saying football should change for America, just telling you that Americans get really hung up on issues they perceive as unfair.
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folks in the states are mostly only interested in things where they excel. I really don't want to sh!t up the thread but the olympics & all "world events" kind of show this. i think the only reason the World Cup is gettign the traction it's gettig at the moment is cause of folks from other nations that are into it that have immigrated to the States & spending that dollar & are neilson rating families. no money in it & we losing, no one would care.
of course i've no proof or anything to support this theory, it's purely early monday morning speculation & b$ing from a madmofo.
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I prefer the idea that football as it is challenges some very American hang ups. If it were to gain wider acceptance in its current form then it would be a signal of societal change, if not then it shows that American sporting culture isn't ready for change.
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oh & as far as traction i'm talking about in the united states.
what hang-ups & societal change you talking 'bout? we talking bout dudes kicking a ball around right???
i kid, i kid. very interesting article about pro hockey in the US & how they could ban fighting, will put the link when i get a moment . . .
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In other sports like American football, basketball, and to a lesser degree baseball, the scoring isn't so sparse that an egregious officiating lapse can't be challenged and maybe overcome (and even overturned in some cases with instant replay). In hockey and soccer, scoring is so rare that it can be more difficult to overcome a bad call. I think even more than in hockey, soccer officials have a lot of power in terms of giving or taking away a goal and affecting outcome. Just look at the first Brazil game penalty shot or that Boznia goal that was disallowed. Univision put it this way after Argentina benefited from slanted calls in defeating Iran: "“It is bad enough that the officiating is poor but when it is uniformly benefiting the bigger teams, such as the Italian foul against Costa Rica that should have been a penalty and yet went uncalled, or the non-penalty on Fred granted to Brazil, or the penalty not granted against Argentina today, one needs to question the integrity of the tournament. Who benefits, but FIFA and others with financial interests, when the big teams progress at the expense of the smaller ones. Perhaps one Costa Rica was the quota, less the television revenue numbers decline.”
As long as those kinds of injustices happen in a sport routinely, America won't buy into it. We're the country who's rolled out instant replay in every major sport. I don't think that mentality is changing anytime soon, and I'll admit I share that mentality. I want to players on the pitch to decide the game, not the officials. I think FIFA is soccer's biggest liability in penetrating this market.
That said, I do love the game. I just think it has the potential to be even better with some minor changes.
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I believe that it's regional. The US is huge geographically.
Soccer has always been pretty big here in Utah. Nearly every kid growing up plays. The same cannot be said for most of the other sports. We will never have an NFL or MLB team, but Real Salt Lake has been accepted into the culture with great pride.
The NBA hasn't been around all that long. There is room enough for soccer to grow in the US and I don't think it has to come at a detriment to other sports.
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I think soccer is played by kids universally. I played it from a pretty young age, and I think that's certainly nationwide if even Mississippi does it. I think this has been the case for a long time, but it has never been able in America to make the leap to popularity as a spectator sport.
If it can come at a detriment to NASCAR I'd be especially grateful.
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Soccer has always been pretty big here in Utah. Nearly every kid growing up plays.
Reminds me of the old joke- "soccer is the sport of the future, and always will be." Kids play it, but then they grow up and start following other sports.
The NBA hasn't been around all that long. There is room enough for soccer to grow in the US and I don't think it has to come at a detriment to other sports.
C'mon the Jazz had been in Utah for 35 years; that's an eternity in pro sports.
I think if soccer is going to grow, (which I think it will) I think baseball will be the most direct loser. The seasons overlap, they're both outside, and frankly, baseball is boring as dirt. And if you check the demographics, baseball has the oldest average fans, and soccer has the youngest. That has to mean something.
Will soccer ever reach the level of basketball or American football? I don't know. Like Mega said, I think that will require a massive cultural shift in the average sports fan, but I suppose it's possible.
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All true.
I guess I don't think that it has to be a top 3 sport. I would say that it's more relevant in the west than more established leagues like the NHL. I'm not trying to convert non fans, but in the West it's a different sports culture than in other parts of the US.
To get back on track I still think it will be a South American team that wins this year. They haven't showed it yet, but Argentina still has my top pick.
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Soccer's actually WAY behind the NHL in North America and making no moves over the last decade. Behind pro football, pro baseball, college football, auto racing, pro basketball, hockey, college basketball, and pro golf. Its popularity remains a rounding error versus the top 6 sports unfortunately.
I'm having trouble picking an odds or sentimental favorite for the Cup. I'll have to watch more I guess
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by North America you mean english speaking right? I doubt that Costa Rica and Mexico put NHL before soccer
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I don't really understand why non-Americans want to see soccer become more popular in the states. It's not like the sport really needs any more popularity at the global level.
However, as an American who played American football as a kid but sure as hell wishes he had played soccer, I'm rooting for soccer to overtake Amefuto as quick as possible. It's silly to put all that effort into a sport you'll never play past 18. Plus, lord I hated all those pads and the limited vision of a helmet/face mask.
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Brazil v. Chile and Netherlands v. Mexico: two incredibly strong pairings for their first knock-out games. I have an inkling there might be a surprise in one of the two.
Since this is a forum about clothes, I dare hope that I won't get too much flak when I drop this in: Mexico have the by far ugliest jerseys IMO….. -
by North America you mean english speaking right? I doubt that Costa Rica and Mexico put NHL before soccer
And French! Touché though
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@501/IH:
Brazil v. Chile and Netherlands v. Mexico: two incredibly strong pairings for their first knock-out games. I have an inkling there might be a surprise in one of the two.
Since this is a forum about clothes, I dare hope that I won't get too much flak when I drop this in: Mexico have the by far ugliest jerseys IMO…..Where's your Christmas spirit?
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Waiting 'til it's the season again….LOL.
But let me point out the best looking ones as well: France tops 'em all. That dark blue, just a bit of white, and a very distinctive, modern letterhead for the names. Sophisticated!
Uruguay I quite like, and the yellow ones, where I have embarrassingly forgotten at the moment, which country sports them. -
All true.
I guess I don't think that it has to be a top 3 sport. I would say that it's more relevant in the west than more established leagues like the NHL. I'm not trying to convert non fans, but in the West it's a different sports culture than in other parts of the US.
I agree, mostly. I think soccer definitely has the potential to be bigger than hockey, and it should be, since hockey is really a regional sport more than a national one. I suspect that over a longer term, say 20+ years, it could be bigger than baseball, but that's really more of a gut feeling than anything solidly grounded in defensible facts.
And to get back from my derailment, I think the Italians have the best looking kits. Much like the French, but a better overall appearance, IMO.
